Install into Claude Desktop

Reflex MCP is browser automation for Claude Desktop without a Chrome extension. Comparing tools? See Reflex vs Playwright MCP or Claude in Chrome alternative.

Preferred: one-click desktop extension

Download the .mcpb bundle and double-click it. Leave the API key field blank: a fresh install starts on the free trial, so there is nothing to paste and no account to create yet. The bundle ships its own runtime, so you do not need Node installed. This is the recommended path: it eliminates the whole Node and npx class of setup problems.

Manual: paste one JSON block

The manual path needs Node 18+ (check with node -v). No API key goes in the config, and you do not need one to start: see below.

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "reflex": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "reflex-browser@latest",
        "mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Where the config file lives

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Restart Claude Desktop fully: quit it from the menu bar or tray, not just close the window.

Try it before creating an account

You do not need to sign up to start. A fresh install comes with 25 free calls, no account and no card, so you can watch Reflex finish a real task first. Ask Claude something like:

try this first

Open news.ycombinator.com and list the top 5 stories with their points.

That is one or two calls. Run reflex_auth with action: "status" any time to see how many of the 25 are left.

Sign in when the trial runs out

Ask Claude to run reflex_auth with action: "login". It opens your browser, signs you in, and saves a key locally, and a free account adds 30 more credits. For CI or headless setups, add REFLEX_API_KEY to the env block in your config instead.

Platform note: macOS is supported today. Windows is in beta; see troubleshooting for the Windows config path and PowerShell quoting notes.